1) You’ll Save Money.
Heating with wood is often cheaper than heating with electricity or gas. If you’re able to collect wood from friends and neighbors, you may not have any cost associated with the wood you burn. And if you are purchasing firewood, that money is staying in your local community instead of going to a utility company.
2) You can cancel your gym membership.
You can hit the weight room:
Or you can split some wood:
Wood doesn’t cut, split, or stack itself. An hour of splitting wood with a maul every other day is just as good as time in the free weight room. Not to mention the stacking, moving, and restacking involved in bringing enough wood in proximity to the stove on a daily basis during the winter is its own mini-workout.
3) You’ll have heat when the power’s out.
Some areas and neighborhoods in Hampton Roads are more susceptible to extended power outages than others. In those areas a wood stove is a great investment as you can keep warm when the power is out and prevent pipes from freezing.
4) It’s Romantic.
There’s romance to sitting in front of flickering firelight in the evenings instead of the flickering television screen. Humankind has been warming themselves since time immemorial with fire, and the sense of satisfaction that comes from being warmed by your own work runs deep.
5) It just feels cozy.
Sure, the thermostat may say the same temperature, but there’s something about the quality of heat from a wood stove that is very different from forced air heat or even radiator heat.